Chapter 1: Time for School!
Chapter 1: Time for School! is the first chapter of Dead Space 2: Break-Fast: Squat to the Top. Description Story : (The screen flickers to a static-filled video as the face of a man comes into view.) :Man (Video Log): "Hello...? Son? Are you up?" :Kid: "Hmm? Ughhhh...!" :Man: "Come on, Kiddo..." :Kid: "Dad?" :Man: "Yeah... It’s me, Son." :Kid: "What do you want?" :Man: "You have school in the morning?" :Kid: "Yeah. Tonight’s a school night." :Man: "I want you to get up bright and early." :Kid: "I don’t know, Dad. I haven’t been feeling so hot." :Man: "I know. Your mom told me." :Kid: "Do I have to go?" :Man: "Yes. Early." :Kid: "Dad?" :Man: "What’s troubling you, boy?" :Kid: "When are you coming home?" :Man: "Soon." :Kid: "That’s what you said last time!" :Man: "I know, but I promise things will be different this time." :Kid: "Okay... Fine. Good night, Dad." :Man: "Good night." :Kid: "I love you, Dad." :Man: "...Bye, Son..." : (The man ends the video call and the video goes to static.) BREAKTRONIC ARTS PRESENTS a Viscereal Games production DEAD SPACE 2: BREAK-FAST: SQUAT TO THE TOP : (The screen fades to the tranquil scene of a green, grassy valley. The same unnamed kid from the opening video log is seen walking alone through the endless field of grass.) Kid: "Dad?!" : (He quiets down as he listens for a response, only hearing the resounding echo of his previous call.) Kid: "Where are you?!" : (He listens again, and hears nothing but his own echo.) Kid: "Hello?! Is anybody here…?! Is there anybody out there?!" : (Again, no answer.) Kid: "DAD?!" : (Giving up, he sits down to rest when suddenly, he hears his father calling for him.) Man: "Son?! Is that you?!" Kid: "Yeah!" Man: "Where are you?!" Kid: "I’m over here! Come over here, Dad!" Man: "I can’t—I can’t move! I need your help!" Kid: "Where are you?! I can’t see you!" Man: "Just follow the sound of my voice! This way!" Kid: "Okay...I think I know where you are! I’m coming!" : (The kid makes a dash toward his father’s voice, flattening the tall grass as he tramples through it.) Man: "You’re getting closer! I’m in the clearing!" : (The kid looks further on ahead and can vaguely make out a furtive clearing through the tall grass as he reaches its border.) Kid: "I see it! I’m almost there!" Man: "You have to hurry!" Kid: "I am!" : (Running faster, the kid can now see the clearing, just a few feet in front of him.) Kid: "Almost there..." : (He finally glides out of the field and lands in the clearing.) Kid: "Dad! I’m here!" : (Out of breath, he bends over and holds himself up by placing his hands on his knees. He looks back up and eagerly looks around the clearing at the heart of the valley and finds himself to be alone.) Kid: "Dad...?" : (Nobody is there.) Kid: "Where are you?" : (The only thing he can hear is the sound of his own pleading breath. He stops panting and the clearing becomes eerily quiet; not even the wind sounds. The kid then hears the snap of a twig and quickly turns around, and sees that the tall grass that was there a moment ago has been replaced by a massive wall of corn.) Kid: "What the hell? Where did that come from?" : (He hears a whispering voice behind him and whisks himself around to look for its source.) : (He realizes that the circular clearing is now in the heart of a cornfield.) Kid: "None of this was here a minute ago..." : (Noticing a strange low-light emanating from the ground in the center of the clearing, the kid slowly walks toward it.) Kid: "What...?" : (He reaches the source of the light and squats down to get a better look at it.) Kid: "What is this?" : (The kid sees two points jutting out of the ground and reaches down to feel them.) Kid: "This is weird..." : (Just as he is about to touch the points, he hears his father hollering from the cornfield, and jumps to his feet.) Man: "Don’t touch it!" Kid: "What are you doing in there?!" : (Instead of hearing a verbal response, all he hears is the sound of something running through the cornfield behind him, so he turns around.) Kid: "Who’s there?!" : (Again, he hears something running through the cornfield behind him and turns around to see nothing.) Kid: "Dad, if this is a joke...it’s not funny!" : (He hears the repeated snapping of twigs in front of him, and feeling as if he’s being watched, he slowly steps back. He begins to hear whispers all around him. Horrified, he makes a mad dash to escape from his unseen observers.) Kid: "I’m getting out of here!" : (Just as he makes it back into the cornfield, he runs into one of his observers and is knocked to the ground. He looks up to the face of his observer and recognizes it.) Kid: "Dad! What’s happening?! How—Why’d you disappear?!" Man: "I’m sorry... I’m so sorry." Kid: "Let’s just get out of here! Please!" Man: "I should have protected you..." Kid: "What are you talking about…? Come on, Dad. Let’s go!" Man: "Josh..." : (The man puts his hands over his heart and collapses to his knees as blood begins to leak through his shirt. The man's son, now identified as Josh, gets on his knees to inspect the wound.) Kid: "Are you okay?" Man: "Josh!" Kid: "No! We have to stop the bleeding!" : (The man’s son takes a cloth out of his pocket to stop the bleeding, but as he looks up to the face of his father, he sees blood pouring from his face. Stunned, the kid takes a step back.) Kid: "Dad, what’s happening to you?" Man: "It’s not your fault... You can’t stop it..." Kid: "No!" Man: "It’s time." Kid: "What...?" Man: "It’s time." Kid: "No!" Man: "Josh!" Kid: "No, Dad!" Man: "Do you hear me?!" Kid: "Dad!" Man: "JOSH!" Kid: "I LOVE YOU, DADDY!" : (Josh opens his eyes and looks around, realizing he has just awoken from a nightmare. He looks at the shocked and smirking faces of his classmates, further realizing that he is in class, and looks up to the face of his teacher, Mr. Altrol.) Mr. Altrol: "Josh Childress! It’s time for roll call! Should I mark you down as present or absent?! Which do you prefer?" Josh Childress: "...Present." Mr. Altrol: "It’s a little early for nap time don’t you think? Even for you..." : (Some of the other students burst into laughter as the embarrassed Josh covers his head with his sweater’s hood.) Josh: "Fuck my life..." Jamie Canon: "Does little Joshie want his daddy?" Richard Poor: "I bet he's gonna cry!" Timothy Davis: "Quick! Someone get his blankey!" David Kingston: "Not cool, guys." Marcy DeWitt: "Yeah. Knock it off." Mr. Altrol: "Settle down, class." : (Feeling something poking his arm, Josh looks to his left at his friend, Kote.) Kote Freezak: "Dude, what was that all about? You were freaking out." Josh: "I know. Just another bad dream. Ow… My head hurts." Kote: "You’re still having those?" Josh: "Apparently..." Mr. Altrol: "Childress, Freezak! Do you two want referrals?" Josh and Kote: "No, Mr. Altrol." Mr. Altrol: "Then I suggest you keep it down and pay attention. As for you, Mr. Childress, you stay awake." Josh: "I don’t know if I can do that. I’ve been taking these sleeping pills to help me with my headaches... I think I’ve been taking too many." Mr. Altrol: "Headaches?" Josh: "Yeah." Mr. Altrol: "I’ve been having headaches of my own lately. Fine... I’ll let you rest during class, but this time only! The next time you’re not feeling good...stay home!" Josh: "Thanks, Mr. Altrol." Mr. Altrol: "You’re welcome, Josh. You have 48 minutes. Rest." Josh: "Kote? Will you wake me when class is over?" Kote: "Sure thing, man. I hope you feel better." Josh: "Thanks. I can’t wait ‘til school’s over..." : (Insert some more text here. You might want to stop reading at this point.) Student, Josh Childress awakens in a deserted classroom. His head is throbbing. He hears several commotions outside the class and stumbles to the door to investigate. Upon opening the door, he finds that the hallway is now quiet, dark, and deserted as well. Josh: "Crap. I must have over-slept in class again. How late is it? Strange... Why didn’t anybody wake me? Mom and Dad are gonna KILL me." He starts to hear a girl’s whimper, slowly inching closer to him. Taking out a flashlight, he shines it in the direction of the whimpering. Josh: "Hello? Is anybody there?" It sounds again. Josh: "Who’s there?" He shines it at the floor and sees a bloody hand reaching for his leg. Josh: "Oh shit!" Josh stumbles back and bumps into a corpse hanging out of a vent. Josh: "Ahhhh! What the fuck?!" He looks back down to the hand and shines his light toward its owner’s face, recognizing it. Josh: "Marcy?! Are you okay?!" He bends down to check on her when suddenly, Marcy screams and grabs Josh’s hands. Marcy: "Josh, help me!" Josh: "What’s wrong?!" Marcy is unable to answer as she is jerked out of Josh’s grasp and dragged away from him. Marcy: "AAAHHHHH!" Josh: "MARCY!" Josh runs towards Marcy and grabs her hands before she is pulled into the hole in the wall by the large tentacle. Still being dragged, Josh manages to position his feet on the outer edges of the hole, stopping the tentacle from dragging them through it. Josh: "Hold on! I’m gonna try to pull you out!" Marcy: "It’s still pulling! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Josh hopelessly tugs on Marcy’s hands, unable to win the tragic game of tug-of-war. Marcy: "Help me!" Marcy finally slips out of Josh’s hands and is pulled further into the hole. Refusing to die, Marcy grabs the edges of the hole and attempts to pull herself out. Josh lunges forward to grab her, but is too late as the tentacle pulls even harder on Marcy. It pulls so hard on her that Josh is able hear the tearing of Marcy’s muscles and the sound of the bones in her arms violently snapping. Marcy: "GAHHHH!!!" Josh: "OH GOD, I’M SORRY!" Horrified and still on the floor, Josh backs away from the hole until he stops at the feet of several wall lockers. Josh: "I TRIED!" He is unable to do anything else as he can only hear the sounds of Marcy being violently slaughtered. Josh hears a loud crash to his right and abruptly looks over to investigate. Josh: "Hello?" All he is able to make out is a dark figure, slowly getting to its feet. Josh: "Who are—?" Josh stops speaking as he realizes the figure before him is not human. It lifts its head up, revealing a pair of glowing, yellow eyes. Josh: "No..." The creature makes a disturbing gagging sound as it arches its shoulders as it prepares to vomit on a defenseless Josh. Josh: “No!” Josh quickly runs the other direction, narrowly dodging the Puker’s stream of deadly vomit. He looks back and sees the Puker hobbling over to him. Josh: "No! Get away from me!" Josh stops at a door, but finds that the lock is broken. Josh: "Shit! Are you serious?! Open! Please open!" Repeatedly pounding on the door to no avail, Josh turns around as the Puker launches a projectile of puke that hits the door, sizzling as it dissolves a layer of paint off the door. Josh: "Acid?! No... Not me! Not that way!" The Puker readies itself for another puke-projectile. Josh: "Shit!" The Puker launches its ball of puke, but Josh ducks, causing the projectile to destroy a circuit-panel. The door suddenly unlocks and Josh opens it and runs through it. Josh: "That was close!" Halfway through the hallway, Josh can see the door labeled "Exit To The Tram Station." Josh: "I’m gonna make it!" Before he can make it to the door, an Enhanced Slasher falls down from a vent and lets out a roar at Josh. Josh: "Aw, no!" Josh looks behind him and sees that the Puker is not too far away from him. Josh: "I’m surrounded... There has to be a way through..." Noticing the clumsy movements of the Puker, Josh does the only thing he can think of. Josh: "I gotta go through!" Running towards the Puker, Josh quickly slides under its legs. Making it through, the Puker is too slow to do anything to him. He continues running through the halls until he reaches the hole where Marcy was dragged to her doom. Josh recalls the horrid screams emanating from the hole moments before. Just as he walks away from the hole, he hears the same whimpering he heard when he found Marcy. Josh: "Marcy...? Are you still in there?" Josh steps closer to the hole and peers inside, and as he does so, Marcy’s bloody-mutilated face pops out and screams at Josh. Marcy: "You did this to me!" Josh: "No!" Josh steps away from the hole, shutting his eyes and grabbing his throbbing head. He feels his head pulsating one more time as Marcy disappears with a bright flash. Josh: "What the hell? She wasn’t real..." Hearing the pair of Necromorphs quickly approaching, Josh continues on and enters the Gymnasium when suddenly, a pair of bright lights are shined upon him. Security Guard #1: "Freeze!" Josh: "Don’t shoot me!" Security Guard #2: "Get on your knees!" Josh: "Why?! I’m just trying to get out of here!" Security Guard #1: "This is a security checkpoint. You need to be searched for weapons and signs of infection." Josh: "Infection? What are you talking about? What’s happening?!" Security Guard #2: "Is he carrying any weapons?" Josh: "Why would I be carrying weapons? I’m just a kid!" Security Guard #1: "He’s clean." Security Guard #2: "This looks like the last one. That makes seven. Time to leave this place." Josh: "Leave where?" Security Guard #1: "Titan Station." Josh: "Why?! What's happening?!" Security Guard #2: "Haven’t you heard any of the announcements?" Josh: "No! I just woke up!" Security Guard #1: "Heh! That’s the public education system for you." Josh: "Fuck you!" Security Guard #2: "Enough! Our orders are clear. Time to move out." Josh: "What orders?!" Security Guard #2: "Evac the school and escort survivors to an evac shuttle." Josh: "Well then, let’s go!" : (Not noticing the other survivors during the commotion, Josh looks to his right and recognizes the six other survivors: Kote Freezak, Jamie Canon, Richard "Dick" Poor, Mr. Altrol, Laura Pratt, and David "Dave" Kingston.) Kote: "Josh! Hey, man! You're still alive!" Josh: "Of course I'm still alive. It's me we're talking about." Jamie: "Why is this loser still alive?! He should be dead!" : (Jamie shoves Josh to the floor with a hard push.) Josh: "Hey!" : (Josh gets back up and punches Jamie in the face.) Josh: "How do you like that, douche?!" Jamie: "What'd you call me?!" : (Jamie prepares to sock Josh, but he is stopped by Dick.) Dick: "Come on, man! Quit it already!" Kote: "Yeah! Josh hasn't done anything to you!" Mr. Altrol: "Students!" Dave: "I'm sick of this guy..." Laura Pratt: "Be quiet!" Security Guard #2: "All right! The last thing we need is to lose any more survivors! Settle down or stay behind!" Josh: "Sounds good to me." : (Josh glares at Jamie and diabolically smirks at him.) Jamie: "...Loser..." : (The Security Guards lead the seven survivors to an exit when they are interrupted by the roar of a large creature.) Security Guard #2: "What the hell was that?" Josh: "We should leave... NOW!" : (They rush to an exit from the Gymnasium as the door is crushed from the impact of the creature on the other side.) Kote: "Shit!" Josh: "What is it?!" Laura: "They're back!" Josh: "What are they?!" Kote: "We're gonna die..." Josh: "Wait! Look!" Kote: "What is it?" Josh: "Come on! This way!" : (The six survivors follow Josh as he stops at a vent in the floor and opens it.) Josh: "The vents! We can escape through the vents!" Kote: "Are you serious?!" Jamie: "We'll get killed down there, dumbass!" Josh: "Do you have a better idea?" Jamie: "No." Josh: "Then listen to me." : (The six other survivors descend into the vent while the creature pounds on the door again.) Security Guard #2: "Are you ready?" Security Guard #1: "Ready." : (As the Security Guards point their weapons at the door, the creature smashes it open, sending a large chunk of the door flying towards Security Guard #2. The door splatters the Security Guard and sends his weapon flying.) Security Guard #1: "Schwartz!" Josh: "Holy cereal!" : (The large creature enters the Gymnasium and reveals itself to be a Brute.) Josh: "Shoot it!" Trivia Sources